moving to bay area

I don't think you are necessarily at a disadvantage being out of the area. Most employers are aware that not all new grads are local and will probably hold a phone interview with you or schedule one when you move here. However, if I remember correctly, most of my classmates who began working for those hospitals started work in early July/late June but were hired by mid-May. There are MANY great facilities in this area, and I think it would benefit you to expand your search to other hospitals, as I know Stanford and UCSF are VERY competitive for new grads. Good luck but do consider looking around elsewhere...

New grad programs in the bay area are very competitive, but not impossible. It depends on where you want to work/what area of nursing. The problem is that all nursing schools graduate at the same time...creating a huge influx of newly graduated inexperienced nurses in the bay area who need to get into a new grad program.

If you could stay where you are and get just 6 months of experience it would give you a huge advantage in getting hired here. You would likely still be competing for new grad positions but you would beat the rest w/o any experience at all.

Just my two cents.

Thanks, guys.

Do you know of any way to stand out from the rest of the crowd not being from the area? Any recommendations?